I have run into situations when a desirable watch was offered to me, gratis. I have usually declined the offer, and made a reasonable offer in cash. Knowing I paid less than a reasonable offer in the market place. Should my conscience bother me?
It seems to depend on how you present the offer. E.g. Say a watch is worth $1,000 on the open market. There's a huge difference between saying 'I would be happy to pay you $600 for this watch' and saying 'I'm an expert on these watches; and I'll help you out. I know that nobody would ever pay more than $600 for it and I'll pay you exactly that. You'll never find a better deal'
So much of this is context dependent but there seem to be bright lines that shouldn't be crossed when it comes to questions of honesty, fairness, benevolence, etc.
I think a great thing about this place is that (nearly) everyone here seems to have a good sense of where these lines are
In the one instance, the chap told me had nothing in the watch, and it meant nothing to him. The watch needed numerous repairs for which I had quoted him $500.00 which he declined. Whereupon, it was offered to me for free! I might have accepted it for free, but I offered $50.00 for it. He accepted. The watch needed numerous repairs. A foot hole jewel, balance staff, mainspring, Geneva (hunter case) watch glass, a minute hand, and cleaning. I had everything the watch needed in my stash, so the next day, I did the repairs. My conscience is clear. The watch, a Waltham 1877 model hunter cased.
